Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

ABSTRACT

An image processing apparatus includes an image processing unit, a use authority information acquisition unit, and a transmission controller. The image processing unit processes an image in accordance with an instruction from a terminal apparatus. The use authority information acquisition unit acquires use authority information in which, for each user, use authority is set for a resource that the image processing apparatus has. The transmission controller transmits, in a case where a change has occurred in a state of the resource, resource-state information, which is information regarding the state of the resource, to a terminal apparatus of a user who has authority to use the resource, in accordance with the use authority information acquired by the use authority information acquisition unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2014-165178 filed Aug. 14, 2014.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an imageprocessing method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an imageprocessing apparatus including an image processing unit, a use authorityinformation acquisition unit, and a transmission controller. The imageprocessing unit processes an image in accordance with an instructionfrom a terminal apparatus. The use authority information acquisitionunit acquires use authority information in which, for each user, useauthority is set for a resource that the image processing apparatus has.The transmission controller transmits, in a case where a change hasoccurred in a state of the resource, resource-state information, whichis information regarding the state of the resource, to a terminalapparatus of a user who has authority to use the resource, in accordancewith the use authority information acquired by the use authorityinformation acquisition unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entire configurationof a notification system in a present exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof a terminal apparatus to which the present exemplary embodiment isapplied;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of the terminal apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of an image processing apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of user authorityinformation;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification datatable; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in anotification determination unit in the present exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention willbe explained in details with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entire configurationof a notification system 1 in a present exemplary embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the notification system 1 includes a terminalapparatus 10A and a terminal apparatus 10B, which transmit, for example,an execution instruction as to image formation or print data (a job)(hereinafter referred to as “terminal apparatuses 10” in the case wherethe terminal apparatuses 10A and 10B do not have to be distinguishedfrom each other). In addition, the notification system 1 includes animage processing apparatus 20, which forms images by performing imageprocessing in accordance with, for example, a job transmitted from acertain terminal apparatus 10 among the terminal apparatuses 10 or a jobinput to the image processing apparatus 20 through a certain operation.

The terminal apparatuses 10 and the image processing apparatus 20 areconnected to one another such that two-way communication is possible,and a session is established between a terminal apparatus 10 of aspecific user authenticated by user authentication and the imageprocessing apparatus 20. The session is a series of communication actsperformed between the terminal apparatus 10 and the image processingapparatus 20 after the specific user is authenticated and until theauthentication is canceled, use of the series of communication actsbeing allowed by the authentication. Examples of a series ofcommunication acts include communication performed between a certainterminal apparatus 10 among the terminal apparatuses 10 and the imageprocessing apparatus 20 in the case where a job is transmitted from theterminal apparatus 10 to the image processing apparatus 20,communication for transmitting, from the image processing apparatus 20to the terminal apparatus 10, information regarding a specific user'suse authority or notification data to be described later, and the like.

Note that plural terminal apparatuses 10 and plural image processingapparatuses 20 may be connected in the notification system 1. FIG. 1illustrates, as an example, a configuration in which two terminalapparatuses 10 and one image processing apparatus 20 are connected.Examples of the terminal apparatuses 10 include slate devices anddevices such as personal computers that may access the image processingapparatus 20 by remote access.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof a terminal apparatus 10 among the terminal apparatuses 10, to whichthe present exemplary embodiment is applied.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal apparatus 10 includes a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 501 and a memory 502, which includes a read onlymemory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM). In addition, the terminalapparatus 10 includes a storage device 503 and a communication device504. The storage device 503 includes a flash memory, a hard disk drive(HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD). The communication device 504communicates with the image processing apparatus 20. Furthermore,terminal apparatus 10 includes an input device 505 and a display device506. The input device 505 receives an input made by a user, and thedisplay device 506 displays a screen. In addition, in the terminalapparatus 10, structural elements are connected to each other viavarious buses such as a system bus, an input-output bus, and the likeand communication is performed between the structural elements.

In the terminal apparatus 10 of the present exemplary embodiment, theinput device 505 and the display device 506 are integrally constitutedby, for example, a touch panel that displays a screen and receivessetting information, or the like. Note that a configuration may also beused in which, for example, a mouse or a keyboard is used as the inputdevice 505, and the input device 505 and the display device 506 areprovided separately, an example of the display device 506 being a liquidcrystal display.

In the terminal apparatus 10, the CPU 501 controls an operation of theterminal apparatus 10 including job transmission by performing a processbased on a control program read from the memory 502 or the storagedevice 503. Note that the control program executed by the CPU 501 may beprestored in the memory 502 or the storage device 503 or may also bestored in a storage medium, which is for example a CD-ROM, and thecontrol program is supplied to the CPU 501. Alternatively, the controlprogram may also be supplied to the CPU 501 via a network or the like.

Note that a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 20(see FIG. 1) is similar to that of the terminal apparatus 10 describedabove.

<Terminal Apparatus 10>

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of the terminal apparatus 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminal apparatus 10 includes anauthentication information receiving unit 101 and an authenticationresult acquisition unit 102. The authentication information receivingunit 101 receives authentication information for performing userauthentication from a user. The authentication result acquisition unit102 transmits authentication information to the image processingapparatus 20 (see FIG. 1) and acquires an authentication resultindicating whether or not authentication is successful. In addition, theterminal apparatus 10 includes an authentication cancellation receivingunit 103, a communication unit 104, and a job reception transmittingunit 105. The authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 receives anauthentication cancellation. The communication unit 104 establishes asession, namely a series of communication acts, between the imageprocessing apparatus 20 and the terminal apparatus 10. The job receptiontransmitting unit 105 receives a job from a user and transmits the jobin the case where a session is established. Furthermore, the terminalapparatus 10 includes a use authority information acquisition unit 106,a notification data receiving unit 107, and a notification data display108. The use authority information acquisition unit 106 acquires auser's use authority information. The notification data receiving unit107 receives notification data indicating information regarding a changein a state of the image processing apparatus 20, which will be describedlater. The notification data display 108 displays information onnotification data.

The authentication information receiving unit 101 receivesauthentication information, which is a user name and a password forperforming user authentication, from a user via the input device 505(see FIG. 2). A method using a user name and a password asauthentication information is employed in user authentication accordingto the present exemplary embodiment; however, other authenticationmethods may also be used as long as user authentication may beperformed. Then, the authentication information receiving unit 101transmits received authentication information to the authenticationresult acquisition unit 102.

The authentication result acquisition unit 102 acquires authenticationinformation from the authentication information receiving unit 101. Inaddition, the authentication result acquisition unit 102 transmits theauthentication information together with an address of the terminalapparatus 10, which includes the authentication result acquisition unit102 itself, to a user authentication unit 205 of the image processingapparatus 20, which will be described later, and acquires anauthentication result from the user authentication unit 205. Then, theauthentication result acquisition unit 102 transmits the authenticationresult to the authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 and thecommunication unit 104, and also causes the display device 506 (see FIG.2) to display the authentication result.

The authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 acquires anauthentication result from the authentication result acquisition unit102. Here, in the case where an authentication result is acquiredindicating that authentication is successful, a session is establishedbetween the terminal apparatus 10 and the image processing apparatus 20by the communication unit 104. Details of session establishment will bedescribed later. The authentication cancellation receiving unit 103receives an authentication cancellation instruction for canceling asession from a user via the input device 505. In addition, in the casewhere the authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 has received anauthentication cancellation instruction from a user, the authenticationcancellation receiving unit 103 transmits a user name and the address ofthe terminal apparatus 10, which includes the authenticationcancellation receiving unit 103 itself, to an authenticationcancellation unit 207 of the image processing apparatus 20, which willbe described later. Furthermore, in the case where the authenticationcancellation receiving unit 103 has received an authenticationcancellation notification from the authentication cancellation unit 207,the authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 displays a messageindicating that authentication is canceled on the display device 506 andnotifies the communication unit 104 of authentication cancellation.

The communication unit 104 receives an authentication result from theauthentication result acquisition unit 102. In addition, thecommunication unit 104 is notified of authentication cancellation by theauthentication cancellation receiving unit 103. In the case where thecommunication unit 104 has received an authentication result indicatingthat authentication is successful from the authentication resultacquisition unit 102, the communication unit 104 establishes a sessionbetween the image processing apparatus 20 and the terminal apparatus 10.Specifically, the communication unit 104 transmits an instruction thatallows job transmission to the job reception transmitting unit 105 andalso transmits an instruction that allows acquisition of use authorityinformation to the use authority information acquisition unit 106.

In contrast, in the case where the communication unit 104 is notified ofauthentication cancellation by the authentication cancellation receivingunit 103, the communication unit 104 releases the session establishedbetween the image processing apparatus 20 and the terminal apparatus 10.Specifically, the communication unit 104 transmits an instruction thatdoes not allow job transmission to the job reception transmitting unit105, and transmits an instruction that does not allow acquisition of useauthority information to the use authority information acquisition unit106.

Note that, in the case where the communication unit 104 has received anauthentication result indicating that authentication is unsuccessfulfrom the authentication result acquisition unit 102 or the case wherethe communication unit 104 is notified of authentication cancellation bythe authentication cancellation receiving unit 103 when no session isestablished, the communication unit 104 does not do anything.

The job reception transmitting unit 105 receives an executioninstruction, for example, for printing, sending a fax, or the like or ajob, which is print data, from a user via the input device 505. Inaddition, the job reception transmitting unit 105 receives aninstruction that allows job transmission and an instruction that doesnot allow job transmission from the communication unit 104.

Then, in the case where the job reception transmitting unit 105 hasreceived the instruction that allows job transmission from thecommunication unit 104, the job reception transmitting unit 105transmits a job received from a user to the image processing apparatus20. In the case where the job reception transmitting unit 105 hasreceived the instruction that does not allow job transmission from thecommunication unit 104, the job reception transmitting unit 105 does nottransmit the received job to the image processing apparatus 20 anddisplays a message indicating that job transmission is not allowed onthe display device 506.

The use authority information acquisition unit 106 receives aninstruction that allows acquisition of use authority information and aninstruction that does not allow acquisition of use authority informationfrom the communication unit 104. In the case where the use authorityinformation acquisition unit 106 has received the instruction thatallows acquisition of use authority information from the communicationunit 104, the use authority information acquisition unit 106 requestsuse authority information corresponding to an authenticated user from ause authority information transmitting unit 212 of the image processingapparatus 20, which will be described later. Then, the use authorityinformation acquisition unit 106 acquires use authority information fromthe use authority information transmitting unit 212, and causes thedisplay device 506 to display functions of the image processingapparatus 20 that the user may use in accordance with the use authorityinformation.

The notification data receiving unit 107 receives, from the imageprocessing apparatus 20, notification data indicating informationregarding states of resources (hereinafter referred to as resource stateinformation) that the image processing apparatus 20 has. In addition,the notification data receiving unit 107 transmits the notification datato the notification data display 108 in order to notify the user of thestates of the resources.

Here, the “resources” are things or units used to provide service. Forexample, the resources include consumables such as toner, sheets,photosensitive items, and the like. In addition to these consumables,the resources include communication lines, recording devices, lightsources, power sources, and the like. Furthermore, the resources includefunctions realized by the image processing apparatus 20 such as a scanfunction, a print function, and the like.

In the case where the resources are consumables, the states of theresources refer to at least one of, for example, the amounts of theconsumables remaining, insufficient amounts of the consumablesremaining, and whether or not the consumables are usable. Specifically,examples of the states of the resources include the amount of tonerremaining, out of toner, out of sheets, whether or not staplers areusable, and the like. In addition, for example, in the case where theresources are communication lines, the states of the resources refer toconnection states of the communication lines. Specifically, examples ofthe states of the resources include fax-line failures, a state in whichcopying and printing are unusable because of a paper jam, and the like.Furthermore, in the case where the resources are functions realized bythe image processing apparatus 20, the states of the resources refer towhether or not the functions are usable. Examples of the states of theresources include an insufficient capacity of a memory or a server,maintenance information indicating that the latest software program hasnot been introduced or the like, billing system failures, and the like.

The notification data display 108 causes the display device 506 todisplay information regarding a change in the state of the imageprocessing apparatus 20, in accordance with notification data receivedfrom the notification data receiving unit 107.

<Image Processing Apparatus 20>

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of the image processing apparatus 20. FIG. 5 is a diagramillustrating an example of user authority information. FIG. 6 is adiagram illustrating an example of a notification data table.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the image processing apparatus 20 includes ajob receiving unit 201 and a job execution determination unit 202. Thejob receiving unit 201 serves as an example of a communication unit thatreceives a job from the terminal apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1) and an inputdevice 505 (see FIG. 2) of the image processing apparatus 20. The jobexecution determination unit 202 determines whether or not to execute ajob. In addition, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a jobexecution unit 203, a user registration information storage unit 204,and the user authentication unit 205. The job execution unit 203 servesas an example of an image processing unit that executes a job. The userregistration information storage unit 204 serves as an example of anauthority information acquisition unit in which user registrationinformation is prestored, the user registration information beingobtained by forming registration information on users into a list. Theuser authentication unit 205 performs user authentication. Furthermore,the image processing apparatus 20 includes an authenticated-user listmemory 206, which forms user names of authenticated users andinformation on the authenticated users, which is addresses of terminalapparatus 10, into a list and stores the list as an authenticated-userlist.

In addition, the image processing apparatus 20 includes theauthentication cancellation unit 207 and a state change detector 208.The authentication cancellation unit 207 removes information on acertain authenticated user from the authenticated-user list and cancelsauthentication. The state change detector 208 detects a change in thestate of the image processing apparatus 20. In addition, the imageprocessing apparatus 20 includes a notification data table storage unit209, which stores a notification data table. The notification data tableis an information table in which notification conditions are associatedwith notification data, the notification conditions being used todetermine notification destinations to which the notification data aretransmitted. Furthermore, the image processing apparatus 20 includes anotification determination unit 210 and a notification data notifyingunit 211. The notification determination unit 210 serves as an exampleof a transmission controller that determines, for authenticated users,whether each authenticated user is a notification destination ofnotification data. The notification data notifying unit 211 notifiesauthenticated users' terminal apparatuses 10, namely notificationdestinations, of notification data.

The job receiving unit 201 receives a job and a user name input by auser via the input device 505 of the image processing apparatus 20 and ajob and a user name transmitted from the terminal apparatus 10. Inaddition, the job receiving unit 201 transmits a received job and areceived user name to the job execution determination unit 202.

Upon receiving a job and a user name from the job receiving unit 201,the job execution determination unit 202 acquires user registrationinformation from the user registration information storage unit 204. Inaddition, the job execution determination unit 202 determines whether ornot to execute the job with reference to the user registrationinformation, which will be described later. In the case where it isdetermined that the job is to be executed, the job executiondetermination unit 202 transmits the job to the job execution unit 203.

Specifically, the job execution determination unit 202 determineswhether or not to execute the job in accordance with whether or not asubject user has use authority for executing the job with reference tothe user registration information. That is, the job executiondetermination unit 202 determines that the job is to be executed in thecase where the subject user, the user who has transmitted the job, hasuse authority for executing the job and determines that the job is notto be executed in the case where the subject user does not have useauthority for executing the job. Then, in the case where it isdetermined that the job is not to be executed, the job executiondetermination unit 202 notifies the terminal apparatus 10 that the jobis not to be executed, and causes the display device 506 of the terminalapparatus 10 to display a message indicating that the job is not to beexecuted.

Upon receiving a job from the job execution determination unit 202, thejob execution unit 203 executes the job. Specifically, in the case wherethe job execution unit 203 has received a job transmitted from theterminal apparatus 10, the job execution unit 203 performs, for example,processing for printing, sending a fax, or the like using received printdata in accordance with an execution instruction of the job. Inaddition, the job execution unit 203 performs, for example, processingfor copying, sending a fax, scanning or the like in accordance with aninstruction input by a user operating the image processing apparatus 20,in accordance with the job received via the input device 505 of theimage processing apparatus 20.

The user registration information storage unit 204 prestores userregistration information, which is obtained by forming registrationinformation on users who use the image processing apparatus 20 into alist. Registration information on users is information in which, for auser name of each user, a password, a user type, and user authorityinformation are associated with the user name, the password being uniqueinformation used for user authentication, the user authority informationindicating use authority set for and unique to the user for the imageprocessing apparatus 20. In the case where the user authentication unit205 performs user authentication, the user registration informationstorage unit 204 transmits a user name and a password corresponding tothe user name to the user authentication unit 205. Furthermore, in thecase where the job execution determination unit 202 determines whetheror not to execute a job, the user registration information storage unit204 transmits user authority information to the job executiondetermination unit 202. Then, in the case where the notificationdetermination unit 210 performs a notification destinationdetermination, the user registration information storage unit 204transmits a user type and user authority information corresponding tothe user name to the notification determination unit 210. In addition,in the case where the use authority information transmitting unit 212has received a request for user authority information from the terminalapparatus 10, the user registration information storage unit 204transmits the user authority information to the use authorityinformation transmitting unit 212.

Here, a user type represents the type of user and is, for example, amachine administrator, a general user, or the like. A general user is auser who has the authority to use the image processing apparatus 20 anduses resources such as copying, printing, and the like within the rangeof use authority given by the machine administrator. In addition, ageneral user is notified of information regarding consumption ofconsumables and information regarding abnormal states of constituents ora system in order to deal with consumption of the consumables such asrunning out of toner, out of sheets, or the like and an abnormal statesuch as a paper jam or the like.

In contrast, the machine administrator is, for example, a user who dealswith mechanical maintenance and manages the image processing apparatus20 by performing settings for security, user registration, and the like.The use authority given to the machine administrator is broader thanthat given to general users. Thus, the machine administrator is notifiedof, for example, maintenance information regarding a failure of aconstituent of the image processing apparatus 20, a system failure, orthe like and confidential information regarding billing information orsecurity.

User authority information is information in which a service item, useauthority for the service item, a specific item of the service item, andspecific authority, which is use authority for the specific item of theservice item, are associated with each other. Service items are, asillustrated in FIG. 5, copy, print, fax, scan, and the like, which arefunctions related to image processing that may be provided by the imageprocessing apparatus 20.

Use authority for service items is each user's use authority. For eachservice item, the user's use authority is set for a function of theservice item. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, in the case wherethe user has the authority to use a function of a certain service item,“allowed” is set. In the case where the user does not have the authorityto use a function of a certain service item, “not allowed” is set. Inaddition, for a user whose authority to use a function of a certainservice item is “allowed”, a maximum number of pages is preset for thenumber of pages (a use unit) available for the function of the serviceitem, for which “allowed” is set, the maximum number of pages serving asa limit used to limit use of the function of the service item. Then,every time the function of the service item is used, the number ofavailable pages is reduced by the number of pages used. Thus, as in, forexample, “1000 pages remaining” or the like, the number of remainingpages available for the function of the service item is set as useauthority.

For example, in the case of a user A illustrated in FIG. 5, “allowed”and “1000 pages remaining” are set as use authority for “copy” amongservice items. Thus, the user A still has the authority to use “copy”for “1000 pages remaining”. In addition, in the case of a user Billustrated in FIG. 5, although “allowed” is set as use authority for“copy”, “0 pages remaining” is set and thus the user B is practicallyunable to use “copy”. In this manner, in the present exemplaryembodiment, even when “allowed” is set as use authority for a certainservice item, in the case where its use unit has reached its limit orthe like, it is expected that the service item is practically unable tobe used.

Note that the number of printable pages for copy or the like or thenumber of readable pages for scan or the like are used as examples ofthe use unit in the present exemplary embodiment; however, the number oftimes of use, the length of time of use, a usage charge, and the likemay also be used as use units.

Furthermore, for each service item, specific items of the service itemare items related to plural specific settings set for the service item.Specifically, examples of a specific item include “print mode”, “readmode”, “tray”, “sheet size”, and the like. Here, “print mode” and “readmode” are items related to colors or black and white set in the case ofimage formation or image reading. In addition, “tray” is an item relatedto plural trays such as a tray 1, a tray 2, and the like in which sheetsto be used to form images are housed. Then, “sheet size” is an itemrelated to sizes of sheets to be used to form images, examples of whichinclude A4 sheets, A3 sheets, and the like.

In addition, for each service item, specific authority is a user's useauthority set for a specific item of the service item. For example, inthe case of the user A illustrated in FIG. 5, “color/black and whiteallowed” is set as specific authority of “print mode” of “copy” andsetting is performed such that the user A has the authority to use colorprinting and black-and-white printing. In contrast, in the case of theuser B illustrated in FIG. 5, “only black and white allowed” is set asspecific authority of “print mode” of “print” and setting is performedsuch that the user B has the authority to use black-and-white printingbut does not have the authority to use color printing. Furthermore, inthe case of the user A illustrated in FIG. 5, “A4 allowed” is set asspecific authority of “sheet size” of “copy” and setting is performedsuch that the user A does not have the authority to use, for example, A3sheets but has the authority to use only A4 sheets.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, upon receiving authentication information andthe address of the terminal apparatus 10 from the terminal apparatus 10(see FIG. 1), the user authentication unit 205 acquires a user nameincluded in user registration information and a password correspondingto the user name from the user registration information storage unit204. Then, the user authentication unit 205 checks, for example, theauthentication information against the user registration information andtransmits an authentication result to the address of the terminalapparatus 10. In addition, the user authentication unit 205 stores anauthenticated user name and the address of the terminal apparatus 10 inthe authenticated-user list stored in the authenticated-user list memory206, as authenticated-user information.

Specifically, the user authentication unit 205 authenticates theauthentication information in the case where, for example, a combinationof the user name and the password included in the authenticationinformation is included in the user registration information. In thecase where the authentication information is not included in the userregistration information, the user authentication unit 205 treats asubject user as a user who has no authority to use the image processingapparatus 20 and does not authenticate the authentication information.

The authenticated-user list memory 206 stores the authenticated-userlist, which is a list of user names authenticated by the userauthentication unit 205 and addresses of terminal apparatuses 10. Theauthenticated-user list memory 206 transmits the authenticated-user listto the notification determination unit 210 in the case where thenotification determination unit 210 performs a notificationdetermination.

The authentication cancellation unit 207 receives a user name and anaddress of the terminal apparatus 10 from the authenticationcancellation receiving unit 103 of the terminal apparatus 10 (see FIG.3). In addition, the authentication cancellation unit 207 removes thereceived user name and the received address of the terminal apparatus 10corresponding to the user name from the authenticated-user list storedin the authenticated-user list memory 206 and releases the session withthe terminal apparatus 10. Then, after performing a removal, theauthentication cancellation unit 207 transmits an authenticationcancellation notification to the authentication cancellation receivingunit 103 of the terminal apparatus 10. Note that the authenticationcancellation unit 207 may remove the address of a terminal apparatus 10for which a series of communication acts allowed by authentication isnot performed for a certain period of time and the user name of theterminal apparatus 10 from the authenticated-user list and may releasethe session with the terminal apparatus 10.

The state change detector 208 detects changes in states of resourcesthat the image processing apparatus 20 has. In addition, in the casewhere the state change detector 208 detects a change in a state of aconstituent or a system, the state change detector 208 transmitsnotification data corresponding to the change in the state of theconstituent or the system to the notification determination unit 210.

The notification data table storage unit 209 prestores a notificationdata table in which notification data are associated with notificationconditions used to determine notification destinations of thenotification data. Examples of the notification conditions include, asillustrated in FIG. 6, a notification target user type, related service,a related specific item, and a specific setting. Then, in the case wherethe notification determination unit 210 determines notificationdestinations, the notification data table storage unit 209 transmits thenotification data table to the notification determination unit 210.

Specifically, the notification target user type is the type of user towhom notification data are transmitted and is, for example, a machineadministrator, a general user, or the like. In addition, the relatedservice is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a function executed using aresource related to the notification data. Items corresponding toservice items are set and are, for example, “copy”, “print”, “fax”,“scan”, and the like.

Furthermore, the related specific item is an item related to a specificsetting for the related service.

Items corresponding to specific items of the service items are set and,for example, “print mode” or “read mode”, “tray”, “sheet size”, and thelike are set.

Then, a specific setting for the related service is a specific settingrelated to the notification data among specific settings included inrelated specific items. Specifically, for example, since color toner isused for color printing, for “out of color toner” illustrated in FIG. 6,“color printing” is set as a specific setting of “print mode”, which isa related specific item. Furthermore, for example, for “out of A4 sheetsin tray 1”, “tray 1” and “A4” are set as specific settings of “tray” and“sheet size”.

The notification determination unit 210 receives, as illustrated in FIG.4, notification data from the state change detector 208 and acquires theauthenticated-user list from the authenticated-user list memory 206. Inaddition, the notification determination unit 210 acquires user typesand user authority information corresponding to authenticated users fromthe user registration information storage unit 204 with reference to theauthenticated-user list. Furthermore, the notification determinationunit 210 acquires a notification data table corresponding to thenotification data from the notification data table storage unit 209.Then, for all the authenticated users, the notification determinationunit 210 determines whether or not each authenticated user is anotification destination of the notification data with reference to thenotification data table and the user type and the user authorityinformation of the authenticated user. Furthermore, the notificationdetermination unit 210 extracts addresses of terminal apparatuses 10 ofauthenticated users who have been determined to be notificationdestinations of the notification data from the authenticated-user list,and transmits the notification data and the addresses of the terminalapparatuses 10 to the notification data notifying unit 211.

As a specific operation for determining a notification destination, thenotification determination unit 210 compares the user type correspondingto each user name included in the authenticated-user list withnotification target user types of the notification data table. Then, thenotification determination unit 210 determines that an authenticateduser whose user type is included in the notification target user typesis a notification destination candidate of the notification data. Incontrast, the notification determination unit 210 determines that anauthenticated user whose user type is not included in the notificationtarget user types is not a notification destination of the notificationdata.

In addition, the notification determination unit 210 performs adetermination as to whether or not an authenticated user determined tobe a notification destination candidate is a notification destination inaccordance with whether or not the authenticated use has the authorityto use related service, with reference to use authority for serviceitems. Specifically, the notification determination unit 210 determinesthat an authenticated user who has the authority to use the relatedservice is a notification destination candidate of the notificationdata. In contrast, the notification determination unit 210 determinesthat an authenticated user who does not have the authority to use therelated service is not a notification destination of the notificationdata. Note that, in the case where the related service includes pluralfunctions, when a user has the authority to use even one of the pluralfunctions, it is determined that the user has the authority to use therelated service. In the case where a user has no authority to use allthe functions of the related service, it is determined that the user hasno authority to use the related service. In addition, in the case wherethe related service is practically unable to be used since its use unithas reached its limit, even when an authenticated user has useauthority, the notification determination unit 210 determines that theauthenticated user is not a notification destination of the notificationdata as in the case where an authenticated user does not have useauthority.

Furthermore, in the case where a related specific item corresponding tothe notification data is present, the notification determination unit210 performs a determination as to whether or not the authenticated userdetermined to be a notification destination candidate is a notificationdestination, in accordance with whether or not the authenticated userhas use authority for the related specific item. Note that, in the casewhere a related specific item corresponding to the notification data isabsent, the notification determination unit 210 determines that theauthenticated user determined to be a notification destination candidateis a notification destination of the notification data.

Specifically, when the authenticated user determined to be anotification destination candidate has use authority for a specificsetting of the related specific item with reference to the authenticateduser's use authority for a specific item of the service item, thenotification determination unit 210 determines that the authenticateduser is a notification destination of the notification data. Incontrast, the notification determination unit 210 determines thatauthenticated users who do not have use authority for the specificsetting of the related specific item are not notification destinationsof the notification data. Note that, in the case where the relatedspecific item includes plural items, when a user has use authority for aspecific setting corresponding to at least one of the plural items, itis determined that the user has use authority for the related specificitem. In contrast, in the case where the user has no use authority forall the items of the related specific item, it is determined that theuser has no use authority for the related specific item.

The notification data notifying unit 211 receives notification data andaddresses of the terminal apparatuses 10 (see FIG. 1) of theauthenticated users determined to be notification destinations of thenotification data from the notification determination unit 210. Inaddition, the notification data notifying unit 211 transmits thenotification data to the terminal apparatuses 10 of the authenticatedusers, the addresses of the terminal apparatuses 10 having beenreceived.

The use authority information transmitting unit 212 receives a requestfor user authority information corresponding to an authenticated user ofa terminal apparatus 10 from the use authority information acquisitionunit 106 of the terminal apparatus 10 (see FIG. 3). In addition, the useauthority information transmitting unit 212 acquires the requested userauthority information on the authenticated user from the userregistration information storage unit 204 and transmits the acquireduser authority information to the use authority information acquisitionunit 106 of the terminal apparatus 10 that has transmitted the requestfor user authority information.

<Processing Procedure in Notification Determination Unit 210>

Next, a processing procedure in the notification determination unit 210in the present exemplary embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure in thenotification determination unit 210 in the present exemplary embodiment.

First, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when a change in a state of the imageprocessing apparatus 20 (see FIG. 4) such as a failure occurs, thenotification determination unit 210 receives notification data from thestate change detector 208 (step 101). In addition, the notificationdetermination unit 210 acquires an authenticated-user list from theauthenticated-user list memory 206. Then, the notification determinationunit 210 acquires user types of authenticated users from the userregistration information storage unit 204 in accordance with theauthenticated-user list, and acquires a notification data tablecorresponding to the notification data from the notification data tablestorage unit 209 (step 102).

The notification determination unit 210 determines whether or not theuser type of an authenticated user among the authenticated users isincluded in notification target user types of the notification datatable (step 103). In the case where the user type of the authenticateduser is not included in the notification target user types (No in step103), the notification determination unit 210 determines whether or notdetermination has been finished for all the authenticated users (step109). In the case where determination has not been finished for all theauthenticated users (No in step 109), processing in step 103 isperformed for another authenticated user. Note that in the case wheredetermination has been finished for all the authenticated users (Yes instep 109), the process ends.

In contrast, in the case where the user type of the authenticated useris included in the notification target user types (Yes in step 103), thenotification determination unit 210 determines that the authenticateduser is a notification destination candidate. Then, the notificationdetermination unit 210 acquires user authority information correspondingto the authenticated user from the user registration information storageunit 204 (step 104).

Here, specifically, in the case where, for example, the image processingapparatus 20 has run out of color toner, the notification determinationunit 210 acquires a notification data table corresponding tonotification data “out of color toner” illustrated in FIG. 6. Inaddition, for example, in the case where the user type of the user A,who is an authenticated user, is a general user, since notificationtarget user types corresponding to “out of color toner” are “generaluser” and “machine administrator”, the notification determination unit210 determines that the user type of the user A is included in thenotification target user types. Then, the notification determinationunit 210 determines that the user A is a notification destinationcandidate and acquires user authority information corresponding to theuser A.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the notification determination unit 210refers to the authenticated user's use authority for service items anddetermines whether or not the authenticated user has the authority touse related service corresponding to the notification data (step 105).In the case where the authenticated user does not have the authority touse the related service corresponding to the notification data (No instep 105), the notification determination unit 210 performs processingin step 109.

In contrast, in the case where the authenticated user has the authorityto use the related service corresponding to the notification data (Yesin step 105), the notification determination unit 210 treats theauthenticated user as a notification destination candidate. Then, thenotification determination unit 210 determines whether or not a relatedspecific item corresponding to the related service of the notificationdata is present (step 106). Note that, in the case where theauthenticated user is practically unable to use the related service eventhough the authenticated user has the authority to use the relatedservice, the notification determination unit 210 performs processing instep 109 as in the case where the authenticated user does not have theauthority to use the related service.

Specifically, for example, in the case of the notification data table of“out of color toner” illustrated in FIG. 6, types of the related serviceare “copy” and “print”. In addition, for example, in the case of the useauthority information on the user A illustrated in FIG. 5, for “print”,which is one of the types of the related service, the user A's useauthority for a service item “print” is set to “not allowed” and theuser A does not have the authority to use “print”. In contrast, for“copy”, the other one of the types of the related service, the user A'suse authority for a service item “copy” is set to “allowed”. Since theuser A has the authority to use “copy” and the number of available pagesis “1000 pages remaining”, the user A is practically able to use “copy”.Thus, the notification determination unit 210 determines that the user Ahas the authority to use the related service and performs certainprocessing.

In addition, for example, in the case of the use authority informationon the user B illustrated in FIG. 5, for “copy”, one of the types of therelated service, the user B's use authority for the service item “copy”is set to “allowed” and the user B has the authority to use “copy”.However, the number of available pages is “0 pages remaining” and theuser B is practically unable to use “copy”. In contrast, for “print”,the other one of the types of the related service, the user B's useauthority for the service item “print” is set to “allowed”. Since theuser B has the authority to use “print” and the number of availablepages is “500 pages remaining”, the user B is practically able to use“print”. Thus, the notification determination unit 210 determines thatthe user B has the authority to use the related service and performscertain processing.

Note that, for example, if the user B is practically also unable to use“print”, the notification determination unit 210 performs processing asin the case where it is determined that the user B does not have theauthority to use the related service.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in the case where no related specific itemcorresponding to the notification data is present (No in step 106), thenotification determination unit 210 determines that the authenticateduser, who is a notification destination candidate, is a notificationdestination of the notification data (step 108). In contrast, in thecase where a related specific item corresponding to the notificationdata is present (Yes in step 106), the notification determination unit210 determines whether or not the authenticated user has use authorityfor a specific setting of the related specific item (step 107).

Specifically, the notification determination unit 210 determines whetheror not the authenticated user has use authority for the specific settingof the related specific item with reference to the authenticated user'suse authority for specific items of the service item. Then, in the casewhere the authenticated user has use authority for the specific settingof the related specific item (Yes in step 107), the notificationdetermination unit 210 determines that the authenticated user is anotification destination of the notification data (step 108). Incontrast, in the case where the authenticated user does not have useauthority for the specific setting of the related specific item (No instep 107), the notification determination unit 210 performs processingin step 109.

For example, in the case of the notification data table of “out of colortoner” illustrated in FIG. 6, the specific setting of “print mode”,which is a related specific item, is “color printing”. In addition, inthe case of the use authority information on the user A illustrated inFIG. 5, “color/black and white allowed” is set as use authority for aspecific item of the service item “copy”, for which the user A has useauthority, and the user A has the authority to use “color printing”.Thus, since the user A has use authority for the specific setting of therelated specific item, the notification determination unit 210determines that the user A is a notification destination of thenotification data.

In addition, in the case of the use authority information on the user Billustrated in FIG. 5, “only black and white allowed” is set as useauthority for a specific item of the service item “print”, for which theuser B has use authority, and the user B does not have the authority touse “color printing”. Thus, since the user B does not have use authorityfor the specific setting of the related specific item, the notificationdetermination unit 210 determines that the user B is not a notificationdestination of the notification data.

The notification determination unit 210 determines whether or notdetermination has been finished for all the authenticated users includedin the authenticated-user list (step 109). In the case wheredetermination has not been finished for all the authenticated usersincluded in the authenticated-user list (No in step 109), thenotification determination unit 210 repeats processing from step 103 tostep 108 for another authenticated user. In contrast, in the case wheredetermination as to determination destinations has been finished for allthe authenticated users, the notification determination unit 210completes the process.

In this manner, in the present exemplary embodiment, among authenticatedusers, users who do not have use authority for functions of relatedservice corresponding to notification data and specific settings ofrelated specific items and who are practically unable to use resourcesrelated to the notification data are not determined to be notificationdestinations of the notification data.

In the above-described example, an example has been described in whichdetermination is performed as to whether or not the users A and B, whoare general users, are notification destinations. In the case of amachine administrator, a machine administrator is a notificationdestination of notification data including, for example, maintenanceinformation and confidential information in addition to notificationdata of which general users are notified. In contrast, the notificationdata including maintenance information and confidential information arenot transmitted to the users A and B, who are general users.

In addition, notification data of which desirably only the machineadministrator is notified are not reported to the terminal apparatuses10 of all users with whom sessions are established, for example, generalusers.

Note that, for determination of notification destinations, the case hasbeen explained where the types of the related service are “copy” are“print”; however, the types of the related service may also be “fax” and“scan”.

The configuration with which notification of notification data isperformed in accordance with each user's use authority in theabove-described exemplary embodiment may also be used for notificationdata related to a function executed without using terminal apparatuses10. Here, examples of the function executed without using terminalapparatuses 10 include fax, scan, and the like and also include a jobexecuted by a user actually setting a document on the image processingapparatus 20 and performing an operation through an operation panel.Even in the case where such a resource is used by a user, beforeactually going to the image processing apparatus 20, the user isnotified of information regarding a change in the state of the resourceand a message indicating that the user, who has the authority to use theresource, is unable to use the resource is displayed on the terminalapparatus 10 of the user.

Note that the configuration in which user authentication is performed bythe user authentication unit 205 of the image processing apparatus 20 isused in the present exemplary embodiment; however, a configuration mayalso be used in which the notification system 1 is provided with anexternal server and the external server performs user authentication.

In addition, the configuration in which the job execution determinationunit 202 provided in the image processing apparatus 20 determineswhether or not to execute a job is used in the present exemplaryembodiment; however, a configuration may also be used in which whetheror not to execute a job is determined in a certain terminal apparatus 10in accordance with a user's use authority information acquired by theuse authority information acquisition unit 106.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: aprocessor connected to a memory and configured to execute: an imageprocessing unit that processes an image in accordance with aninstruction from a terminal apparatus; a use authority informationacquisition unit that acquires use authority information for a serviceitem in which, for each user, use authority is set for a resource thatthe image processing apparatus has; and a transmission controller thattransmits, in a case where a change has occurred in a state of theresource, resource-state information, which is information regarding thestate of the resource, to a plurality of terminal apparatuses of atleast one user who has authority to use the resource, in accordance withthe use authority information acquired by the use authority informationacquisition unit, wherein the change in the state of the resource is achange of resource status that influences another user that has useauthority for a resource related to the change of the resource status.2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in acase where a change has occurred in the state of the resource, thetransmission controller does not transmit the resource-state informationto a terminal apparatus of a user who has no authority to use theresource, in accordance with the use authority information acquired bythe use authority information acquisition unit.
 3. The image processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the use authority informationacquisition unit acquires use authority information, in which, for eachuser, use authority is set for at least one or more of settings includedin the resource, and in a case where a change has occurred in a staterelated to the at least one or more settings, the transmissioncontroller does not transmit resource-state information related to theat least one or more settings to a terminal apparatus of a user who hasno use authority for the at least one or more settings.
 4. The imageprocessing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the use authorityinformation has information on a limit set for a user and related to useof the resource, and the transmission controller does not transmit, in acase where use of the resource, which the user is able to use, hasreached the limit, the resource-state information to a terminalapparatus of the user.
 5. The image processing apparatus according toclaim 2, further comprising: a communication unit that establishes asession between a terminal apparatus and the image processing unit forperforming a series of communication acts to use the resource, whereinthe transmission controller transmits the resource-state information toa terminal apparatus with which a session is established by thecommunication unit.
 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim5, wherein the use authority information has information on a limit setfor a user and related to use of the resource, and the transmissioncontroller does not transmit, in a case where use of the resource, whichthe user is able to use, has reached the limit, the resource-stateinformation to a terminal apparatus of the user.
 7. The image processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the use authority informationhas information on a limit set for a user and related to use of theresource, and the transmission controller does not transmit, in a casewhere use of the resource, which the user is able to use, has reachedthe limit, the resource-state information to a terminal apparatus of theuser.
 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe use authority information acquisition unit acquires use authorityinformation, in which, for each user, use authority is set for at leastone or more of settings included in the resource, and in a case where achange has occurred in a state related to the at least one or moresettings, the transmission controller does not transmit resource-stateinformation related to the at least one or more settings to a terminalapparatus of a user who has no use authority for the at least one ormore settings.
 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the use authority information has information on a limit set fora user and related to use of the resource, and the transmissioncontroller does not transmit, in a case where use of the resource, whichthe user is able to use, has reached the limit, the resource-stateinformation to a terminal apparatus of the user.
 10. The imageprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: acommunication unit that establishes a session between a terminalapparatus and the image processing unit for performing a series ofcommunication acts to use the resource, wherein the transmissioncontroller transmits the resource-state information to a terminalapparatus with which a session is established by the communication unit.11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein theuse authority information has information on a limit set for a user andrelated to use of the resource, and the transmission controller does nottransmit, in a case where use of the resource, which the user is able touse, has reached the limit, the resource-state information to a terminalapparatus of the user.
 12. The image processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the use authority information has information on alimit set for a user and related to use of the resource, and thetransmission controller does not transmit, in a case where use of theresource, which the user is able to use, has reached the limit, theresource-state information to a terminal apparatus of the user.